Monday, March 28, 2011

Four Tips To Begin Club With A Bang

Keep Them Out

Depending upon your club location and the weather, if possible try to keep kids out of the actual club room until the start of club. This creates suspense and wonder as to why you're not letting kids in the club room. We do this at YL camps, why not at club?

Upperclassmen Ownership

Invite your upperclassmen inside the club room early to form a tunnel for the other kids to enter through. This makes the older kids feel special and creates a fun tradition each week.

Pick The Right Entrance Music

SING-ABLE - You want kids singing together out loud as they enter.

CLEAN - Make sure you look at the lyrics and ask not only "Is there any profanity?" but also "Is this song appropriate and above reproach in the message its sending to kids?" Its hard to find songs like that, but worth looking hard.

CURRENT - It doesn't have to be, it could be a classic from when they we're younger such as "Fresh Prince of Bel-Air", but current=cool. You might be thinking, "I don't know what's cool and current." Ask kids to help you choose those songs. This is just another way to give them ownership.

FAST - The speed and beat of the song set the mood and pace for the feel of the entire club. If you want your high school friends to get hype, to get amped up, then start off right with a bumpin' song.

*This week I'd suggest having kids enter to the hottest song out right now with 61 MILLION VIEWS on YOUTUBE:"Friday" by Rebecca Black. (It's the song used in our intro club video for tonight that is pasted below.)

Create An Intro Chant Tradition

Many clubs all over the country start club the same way, but feel free to tweak this "call and response chant" below to make it fit your school. Or be creative and come up with a new one. Here's the one we said at our club when I was in high school 15 years ago and the same one we still will use tonight:

Leader: Tonight!

Crowd: YES, TONIGHT

Leader: Young Life has gone to absolutely

Crowd: NO EXPENSE!

Leader: To bring you the UNBELIEVABLE

Crowd: But we’ll believe it anyway

Leader: North West

Crowd: YOUNG LIFE!!!

Here's a video of how we open club with a tunnel and we're actually using this video as the intro while kids enter the club room tonight for YouTube Club.